The occupation of Wall Street has inspired a nationwide movement in the spirit of Wisconsin.

But there has been a powerful backlash against peaceful protesters who are using both their right to public assembly and tactics of nonviolent civil disobedience to call attention to the fact that our government has bailed out the wealthiest Americans but has done little to help middle and working class Americans who have lost their jobs and had their homes foreclosed on.

The very existence of Occupy Wall Street could be endangered by strongarm NYPD tactics aimed at intimidating protesters and ending their stand against the big Wall Street banks.

Not a single banker has gone to jail and yet over 1,000 protesters have been arrested. I stand with the protesters of Occupy Wall Street, and I demand that the NYPD respect their constitutional right to peaceful assembly.